Dr Afaf El-Ansary

Dr Afaf El-Ansary

Biography

Dr Afaf El-Ansary

Afaf El-Ansary, female, biochemist, graduated from biochemistry department, Ain Shams University, Egypt in 1974. She worked in the National Reserch Centre, Egypt from 1976-2000, Since 2001, she is working in biochemistry department, King Saud University, KSA. She was recognized by the Marquis Who’s Who in science and engineering, Eight’s edition, 2005-2006. She is member in number of national and international societies and she is recorded as reviewer in many international journals. In recent year she focused on the screening of biochemical markers related to autism and she got almost 100 published papers in high impact factor Journals related to this research interest. She is member in Predictive, Preventive and Personalized Medicine Society (Moscow).

Abstract

Suggested preventive and treatment tools based on multiple environmental risk factors of autism

Autism is associated with deficits in social interaction and communication, restricted interests and repetitive behaviors. Signs of autism are not evident in the first six months of life, but emerge in the second half of the first year. Literature suggests that the prevalence of ASD has increased 20 times, from a rate around 1:2500 in the mid 1980s to a rate of 1:50 at 2014. Currently, many environmental factors, both pre- and postnatal, are found to be associated with ASD. There are some reports that environmental factors might account for more than half the causal variance in autism. Advanced parental age, parent autoimmune disease, maternal depression, multiple births, maternal infection, and maternal diet are among many other environmental risk factors contributed to autism.

Many autistic children have multiple medical problems including, oxidative stress and glutathione depletion, decreased methylation; mitochondrial dysfunction; intestinal dysbiosis showing increased shifted toward an overgrowth of Clostridia species, toxic metal burden; immune dysregulation, characterized by elevation of proinflammatory cytokines and a unique inflammatory bowel disease and immune activation of neuralgia cells and glutamate excitotoxicity. Identifying biomarkers related to these medical problems will almost certainly leading to a better understanding of the pathogenesis required to design the most effective diagnostic and treatment strategies for autism. Moreover, more understanding of the contribution of different environmental risk factors in the etiology of autism can help to suggest preventive strategies.